About this vendor
Wedding Savvy, Inc. is a team of passionate event planners working out of Annapolis, MD.
Couples can benefit from the guidance of these seasoned professionals. Owner, Raquel Shutt aims to leave her clients feeling assured in the knowledge that their special day is in the safest of hands.
Raquel opened the company in 2002, putting together an outfit that believed in her vision. Shortly after commencing with business, she was greeted with reviews of overflowing positivity. This prompted Raquel to invest in further training for her staff, and so the ‘Savvy way’ was born. Together the team now boasts more than half a century’s worth of experience.
Raquel’s formula for success is simple, ensure that the couple feels relaxed, informed, and positive during the entire planning process. They urge clients to remain focused on reveling in the experience while the team takes care of the rest. By spending time with couples they aim to gain an understanding into who they are as a collective force. This knowledge is then implemented into the design and look of the event. Wedding Savvy Inc. maintains a professional approach, but with a trademark personalized touch.
Full and partial-service options are available, catering to the necessary requirements set out by each couple. Raquel and her team will then establish a budget with the clients. The day-of coordinator will be a conductor during the big day, making sure everything goes to plan. The company offers post-wedding services, providing assistance in planning honeymoon getaways
Details
Destination Weddings
- Destination Wedding Planning
Planning
- A la Carte Wedding Planning
- Budgeting
- Day-Of Coordination
- Destination Wedding Planning
- Full Service Wedding Planning
- Honeymoon Planning
Wedding Activities
- Getting Engaged
- Engagement Party
- Honeymoon
- Rehearsals & Parties
- After Party
- Bridal Luncheon
Reviews
Your trust is our goal. Our community relies on honest reviews to help
you make those big decisions with ease.
5
out of 5.029 reviews
Leslie and her team were absolutely incredible. My outdoor waterfront wedding day vision changed with the forecast of a tropical storm. Leslie was cool, calm, and collected through...
the entire experience. She knew my wedding timeline and vision like the back of her hand and I could trust any decision/change she made in the whirlwind of the storm to make our wedding day the absolute best.
There wasn’t a situation at our wedding that Leslie had not experienced before, and that made navigating the day much easier and less stressful.
Leslie is extremely thorough and detail oriented, which is exactly the type of planner you want when it comes to your big day- you only get one! You only get one wedding and you only get one wedding planner- Leslie is your girl!
Leslie did an outstanding job coordinating our daughter's wedding at the Naval Academy. She was the consummate professional while being incredibly kind and supportive. She took the...
stress out of the entire process. She was amazing. She was available whenever we needed her and made the day flow smoothly from start to finish. We couldn't have done it without her!! I can't thank her enough or recommend her more highly.
A little over two months ago, our daughter was married in North Beach at Herrington on the Bay. We knew it would be a good idea to hire a Wedding Coordinator because we had variou...
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outside vendors, family coming in from out of town, and friends flying in from all over the country. The coordination of these moving parts was a bit overwhelming, although the venue was wonderful to work with, we knew it would be wise to get some help! Herrington on the Bay recommended that we reach out to Wedding Savvy, a full-service wedding planning and consultation company based out of Eastern Maryland. Our first call was with Senior Consultant, Leslie Jefferson. To say that Leslie was delightful would be an understatement.
She took the time to get to know our daughter, her maid of honor (our younger daughter) and
me (the mother of the bride). We hired Leslie to assist us two months out, and she coordinated the vendors and created a minute-by-minute timeline for the wedding. There was no detail missed, and Leslie even brought up many items that we had not considered. She was a God-sent! Leslie also worked seamlessly with the staff of Herrington and made sure they were synced with her master timeline. She coordinated 4-5 meetings between our daughter, her sister and myself, and kept a timeline of tasks and needed information.
Leslie had a calm and confident demeanor that left everyone feeling reassured as we approached the week of the wedding. She handled the behind-the-scenes “to-dos” with grace and efficiency. On the morning of the wedding, my husband went out to the venue and noticed a volleyball team had set up on the beach, just behind the location where our daughter would be having her ceremony. We let Leslie know and she took care of the situation without delay, letting the volleyball players know that this was a private beach, owned by the venue, and that
her client had reserved this beach area for wedding. This gave them time to relocate to a different section of the beach, much further down, so they did not disrupt the ceremony.
We were so happy with Leslie and the Wedding Savvy Team!! The greatest compliment came from our daughter who said it truly was “the best day of her life.” If you are looking for a wedding consultant, please consider Leslie Jefferson and her staff. They definitely received 5 stars from the Lathrop family for their professionalism, being exceptionally detailed, kind and absolutely lovely.
~Mary L.
Hire Wedding Savvy for your best wedding ever! Your day will be outstanding!!
I was an out-of-town bride and needed someone local to give expert advice, handle planning, and provi...
de day-of management. I interviewed several planers, but from the moment I contacted Wedding Savvy, I knew they were the ONE!
I worked with Leslie, and her responsiveness, professionalism, and knowledge are beyond superb and spot-on. She got back to me immediately when I had questions, provided excellent guidance, and was proactive on all details. In addition, Leslie's knowledge of the Annapolis area, wedding venues, and vendors is exceptional. She got to know me, and she know exactly what I wanted, and made that happen. She is expert in her field! She is also kind, caring, and supportive--a truly wonderful person!
Our wedding was held at the Naval Chapel and the Naval Academy Club. Wedding Savvy new all the policies, procedures and protocol of the Academy, which made our day smooth and seamless for both my guests and the wedding party. Leslie's contacts and knowledge of the USNA was a huge stress relief for me.
Leslie and Wedding Savvy were with me every step of the way. Book Wedding Savvy now and have confidence that your wedding will be everything you dreamed of and more!
Leslie Jefferson is an amazing wedding planner. Leslie has wonderful taste and an eye for design. She also stands out for her kind and pleasant demeanor and her “can do”
attitude e...
ven in the last weeks when the pressure is high. She has excellent judgement when making recommendations about all the details. Leslie is well connected with and well respected by the other vendors. She is extremely professional coordinating all the details. When we walked into the reception, the beauty of the room, blew our guests away and that was only the beginning of an exceptionally well planned event. Trust Leslie with your wedding! You will be so glad you did!
We highly recommend working with Leslie! Our wedding felt like a dream, and being able to hand the reins over to Leslie (and feel confident doing so!) was a big part of it. We are ...
really glad we were able to work with her and are very appreciative of all her help making our day run smoothly. Her help keeping us on track even let us eat dinner (!!), and her help managing our friends and family ensured everyone had a great night. She also helped set up our diy flowers, making that project possible! Multiple people commented to us "your coordinator seems to be amazing!" and we have to agree.
We hired Wedding Savvy for Day of Coordination for our wedding in April 2022 and it was the best decision we ever made! We worked directly with Leslie in the months leading up to ...
the wedding and she was there with us day of as well. She was AWESOME! She reviewed all our contracts, worked with us to create an amazing day of schedule, coordinated with all our vendors, helped with set-up/take down, and it all allowed us to truly enjoy every minute of our wedding day! More than that, Leslie has a calm way about her that puts everyone around an her at ease and is so genuine and caring. 10/10 recommend if you are looking to hire someone for wedding planning services! Thank you Leslie!
Words aren't enough to describe how pleased I am with Wedding Savvy but I will try! I purchased their 2 month and day of package. From my initial meeting with Leslie Jefferson to m...
y many meetings and email exchanges with Gina Ingel, my husband and I felt cared for. We unfortunately had to postpone twice due to COVID-19, but 3rd date was the charm! Every little detail was appreciated from listening to us vent about options regarding postponing, the organized day of timelines for bridal party and vendors, help with a tricky vendor, last minute run to the store for umbrellas, helping me with shoe & outfit change, making sure our party bus had what we needed, cute decoration of our honeymoon suite and more!
Wedding Savvy was wonderful. I planned a wedding during COVID-19 thus all of my details were changing on a regular basis. Leslie made sure we were organized throughout the process....
The best part was on the day of the wedding. We had a small intimate wedding and Leslie treated it as if it were just as important as any other large wedding. She took care of all of the stressful details while I sat back, relaxed and enjoyed the day. I definitely would recommend Wedding Savvy.
Working with Wedding Savvy was the absolute best decision my husband & I made when it came to planning our wedding! With both of us working full-time and having very stressful jobs...
, we really wanted to make sure we enjoyed the planning process as much as possible- Wedding Savvy made this happen!
From the very first meeting with Raquel, we knew we were in great hands. She is so knowledgeable about the wedding industry and we really appreciated her honesty when it came to choosing a planning service that would meet our needs. What we are most grateful for is that Raquel paired us with our wedding consultant, Nia!
We cannot say enough about how amazing Nia is and what she did for us to help make our wedding day a dream come true! She was there with us every step of the way and she was absolutely incredible to work with. For someone like me who is admittedly type A and very detail-oriented, she was exactly the calming presence I needed during this process. We never doubted for a second that all of the work we needed to accomplish would get done because Nia would always make it happen. She recommended the BEST vendors to work with, she gave such wonderful advice and most importantly, she worked closely with us to make sure our wedding was a reflection of us as a couple.
I cannot finish this review without mentioning Katie & Briana, who assisted Nia on our wedding day to help make sure everything ran smoothly. When the button on my husband's suit jacket became loose, Katie was there with her sewing kit to take care of it. When my dad's new shoes (which he didn't break in before the wedding) caused him to get a painful blister on his foot, Katie was there again- this time, with the first aid kit. We can't forget to thank Briana, who worked closely with the hotels & transportation company to ensure our guests were on the shuttles on time to make it to the ceremony. These ladies were truly the dream team!
We understand that weddings can be very expensive and that the thought of possibly spending more money to work with a wedding consultant might make you hesitant, but trust us- this will be the best money ever spent! Thanks to the incredible team at Wedding Savvy, we had the most memorable and special time of our lives. Working with them not only allowed my husband & I to enjoy the planning process, but also our close family & friends. We didn't have to worry about delegating so much to our loved ones that they in turn would be stressed & exhausted. This made it SO worth it! So when you are finished reading this review, go ahead & reach out to Wedding Savvy to help plan your wedding- you will not regret it! :)
My husband and I contracted with Wedding Savvy for its hourly, day-of coordinating services. From the detailed spreadsheets designed to help make sure we had all of our bases cove...
red to the meeting a week before the wedding to the day-of assistance, Wedding Savvy was amazing. I like to think of myself as a rather organized person, so I was convinced that I had checked all of the necessary boxes to make sure the wedding day went smoothly, with or without a wedding coordinator. But, Lauren, the Wedding Savvy team member who supported us on our wedding day, made it very evident that THEY are the professionals. Throughout the wedding day, she answered questions -- from guests, the venue, and other vendors -- before anyone could even think about asking me. She ensured that my husband and I were taken care of the entire evening and that all of the needs of our guests were met. Our guests continuously commented on how amazing she was and how integral she was to ensuring our day was a success.
We could not have done it without her or Wedding Savvy. If you are considering contracting with them for their hourly, day-of services, do it! You won't regret it.
I just want to say that Wedding Savvy provided my wife and I with the best experience we could have ever imagined. We had our wedding in Annapolis in September 2019 for over 300 pe...
ople. As anyone can imagine, having a large wedding can be an extremely daunting task especially when you and your wife have a a full time job, but we are so thankful we had Wedding Savvy as our partner. As first time wedding planners, we had no idea where to begin or how to plan, and Wedding Savvy did EVERYTHING for us.
We were initially recommended to Raquel by our event site because they have done weddings in Annapolis and when we met her we were blown away by her professionalism and attention to detail. We were interviewing several planners for a full time service and as soon as we met Raquel we decided to sign with her and her team. She asked us about our budget, our vision, and provided us with a full plan on how we can meet the expectations of our special day.
After we had decided to work with Wedding Savvy, we were matched with Raquel's senior consultant, Leslie Jefferson. Leslie was a rockstar. She was extremely organized and provided us with great suggestions throughout the whole planning process. She was well connected with vendors in the area and was able to provide us vendors with great reviews that fit within our budget. She was so great to work with and was always willing to send an email, pick up the phone, and schedule a meeting with us whenever we needed. When you hire a full time planner, being able to have access when you need it most is extremely important and she was great at communicating.
Aside, from the planning, Leslie went above and beyond on our wedding day as well. She went out of her way to pick up things for us last minute, make sure accommodations were made, and was extremely flexible from managing the event. Her assistants were fantastic on the day of as well making sure my wife, myself, my family, and all of our guests were having a good time and ensuring that we had everything that we needed. Even when things may not have gone to plan, the team thought quickly on their feet and made sure that things were fixed and back on schedule.
The thing I would say that's most important is the level of organization that Leslie had when managing our contracts, vendors, and event sites. It's tough to keep track of everything and they had everything available when it was needed.
Overall, the money you spend on Wedding Savvy is one of the best budget items you can allocate on your wedding day. Peace of mind that things will go smoothly and according to plan is worth every cent. I recommend Leslie and Raquel to anyone about to have a wedding and I can assure you that you will be in the best hands in the industry.
Note: This a review for Wedding Savvy's hourly services, so we paid an hourly rate for seven hours of day-of coordination.
The owner, Raquel, was extremely responsive, profession...
al, and warm from the very start, and worked with us to adapt their services to fit our budget for our 60-guest backyard wedding. Our day-of coordinator Stephanie was absolutely fantastic and I'm so, so glad we chose to have the help on our big day. We had two phone calls prior to the wedding (an introductory one a few weeks before, the second a more thorough call a few days before) which were a big help in smoothing out the logistics and reassuring me that we were in good hands. While I only saw her briefly in the lead-up to the ceremony, Stephanie and her assistant Margaret were great, checking in on me a few times and otherwise dedicating themselves completely to getting everything ready in time. Everyone who interacted with them said they were amazed at how professional and efficient they were! Before I knew it, Stephanie was happily telling me "Okay, go get married!" and I was off walking with my dad down the aisle.
The rest of the night went beautifully. Everything I wrote down in the forms and everything we discussed on the phone (table placement, centerpieces, etc.) was taken care of. In addition to the larger brush strokes, they shined with the little details too -- Stephanie was right there with us when we wanted to make some last minute changes (like forgoing a planned reintroduction so we could rejoin cocktail hour early -- she communicated this to the DJ without us having to do a thing) and Margaret was ready with our chosen cocktails right as Nick and I left the ceremony and headed to do group photos!
Working with Wedding Savvy was a lovely experience and really, truly helped ensure that we could enjoy the day without worrying about a thing. Everything passed by so quickly that it meant a lot to us to be able to spend it all laughing, dancing, eating, drinking, and reconnecting with our families. Thanks for everything!
Our wedding would not have been what it was had I not hired Gina. Gina and Katie saved the day MULTIPLE times on the day of our wedding. From setting up our entire reception, get...
ting family members where they needed to be, bustling my dress, fixing my hair, holding ice packs to my back when it was 96 degrees, and so much more. My husband and family could not stop talking about how amazing they were. They thought of things before they happened and were beyond prepared with things I would have never thought to bring, they also kept me so calm and reassured me when I started to become anxious. Gina even created a timeline and passed it out to the bridal party and family with the timelines being down to the minute. I will never be able to say thank you enough for all they did for me! The best decision I made was hiring them. I have already recommended them to several brides getting married in the near future!
Absolute wedding sanity life saver & master planning services. Raquel worked with me to work out logistical details, flagging possible hiccups early to solve BEFORE the wedding day...
. The value of this showed the week of my wedding where the reigns were officially handed over and I simply relaxed & enjoyed. Our day went off PERFECTLY, literally PERFECT and where I was worried about time, we had EXTRA. Raquel was AMAZING., working seamlessly with vendors & was SO thoughtful. Examples: Snagging my mom from cocktail hour to ensure the reception was set up to her liking. Having an AWESOME plate of food for my husband & I pre reception, complete with our signature cocktails. Getting my flip flops for me so I didn't need to leave the reception AND cleaning our decor out of the venue (including band green room) so we had absolutely nothing to worry about the next day. I can't imagine our wedding day, or planning for it without her! My VERY detail oriented Marine hubby was super impressed too. Don't think twice about booking Wedding Savvy!
Initially, I didn’t think I needed a planner. As we progressed through the planning process, I realized it was a far more complicated task than originally anticipated. Raquel and...
the Wedding Savvy team were recommended to us by a family friend. I am so glad we decided to hire their team. Nia was our assigned coordinator. She is patient, carefully listened to my “vision” for the day, offered honest and useful feedback, and her plans were extremely detailed and organized. She brought a lot of details/ideas to my attention that I wouldn’t have thought of or had initially considered not important. There were a few miscommunications between my fiance and I and she handled those situations patiently and professionally. Nia wasn’t able to make our walk-through at the venue, but we were lucky enough to have Raquel fill in for her. From the relatively small amount of time spent with Raquel, I can confidently say she is an expert and well connected in the wedding world. One of the most helpful things Nia did for us was putting together a well detailed and organized schedule for the day of for vendors, the wedding party and family. This kept everyone on the same page and was especially helpful keeping us on time as we had to change plans on the fly once it started pouring rain that afternoon. Ultimately, I felt our day went off without a hitch and I was able to enjoy our wedding thanks to the work of Nia and her team.
There isn’t enough that I can say about Wedding Savvy! Everything was so very pleasant and professional from the time of my initial consultation with Raquel up until the very end o...
f my Wedding with Amelia. They went above an beyond to keep myself and my husband happy. Amelia was amazing and very sweet! I kept getting compliments on how well my wedding coordinator kept everything going and on time. I also had a huge issue with our hotel contract that would have had me unexpectedly paying over a thousand dollars right before my wedding! I was so stressed out and reached out to Amelia. She contacted the hotel and also got Raquel Shutt involved. Long story short the fees were waived without penalty! I can’t thank them enough and I highly recommend Wedding Savvy to anyone looking for a professional outstanding experience!
Wedding Savvy was an absolutely indispensable part of our wedding planning experience. I went in to wedding planning so unaware of just how many logistics and details needed to be ...
considered - especially given we were having a home wedding where nothing was pre-set or determined for us. Our wedding coordinator from Wedding Savvy was essential and made everything so much easier for us - Nia made sure every detail was accounted for, and I knew I could step back and let her manage everything so I could just enjoy the day. Cannot recommend Wedding Savvy enough!
Deciding on Wedding Savvy was the best choice I could have ever made. I had Gina for months prior to my wedding. She helped me stay on task, focus on details, and not to sweat the ...
small stuff. She truly understood my vision and did an AMAZING job bringing it to life. Raquel also made me feel like I was the only bride they were serving which felt so personal and unique. They recommended the greatest vendors around and made my wedding day flawless! No joke, everything went so perfectly that all my friends were shocked that nothing went wrong. I had always heard people saying, "Something will go wrong but you just have to be ok with it." Well, with Wedding Savvy that wasn't even a concern for me. Gina, Katie, and Raquel are some of the best people to work with and I'd highly recommend Wedding Savvy to anyone looking for a once in a lifetime experience!
This is the best money we ever spent! Having Gina with us starting 2 months prior to the wedding was so helpful. She talked to vendors, organized to-do lists, created timelines, an...
d kept everyone calm and orderly. On the day of the wedding she was there all day to help with everything from pinning the guys' boutonnieres to lining us up for the ceremony to transporting flowers from the church to the reception. She was amazing and I'm so happy that we had the chance to work with her.
Leslie from Wedding Savvy is amazing. Our wedding would not have been what it was if it wasn't for her!
We encountered venue issues a couple of months into the planning process...
, and were having trouble in general planning from far away. That's when Leslie came on board and turned everything around for us. She's so on top of it and made every idea that we had for our wedding happen (and then some). We trusted her advice/direction on every piece, and she did not let us down! Leslie was prepared for everything/anything.
Both of our families (particularly mine since they had the most interaction) were impressed by and grateful for Leslie and her professionalism. And for me - I don't think I could have worked with anyone better.
Gina from Wedding Savvy was my planner and I could not say enough amazing things about her and her team! I truly believe my day went so well because of her. From the smallest detai...
ls to the largest ones, she ensured that my wedding went smoothly. She went above and beyond, ie: when I forgot a piece of my wedding dress and she made sure it was found in my house and brought to me! Amazing. I would highly recommend Wedding Savvy!
I was the first of my friends to get married, so I had zero recommendations for vendors, and on top of that I was planning my 200-guest Maryland wedding from California (with less ...
than a year from choosing our venue to the wedding day). At first I was hesitant about using part of our budget on a planner, but can honestly say that having Amelia as a partner in our planning process was worth every cent.
Amelia started by providing an incredibly detailed budget spreadsheet, and going through it with us step-by-step to help us figure out what our most important items were and where we could cut costs. From there, she provided a design inspiration board and vetted vendor recommendations to make our selection worry-free. Since I am on the West Coast, Amelia arranged calls late in the evening to accommodate our work schedule, which we were SO thankful for.
The event coordinator from our venue was a nightmare to work with throughout the process (and quit without notice 2 weeks out from our wedding day) and Amelia stepped in to make sure things ran seamlessly and that I was not stressed. She helped organize a rowdy wedding party from the rehearsal to the reception (color-coded schedule!), and set up every detail of our venue exactly how I imagined. Our dog was our ring bearer, and Amelia even helped take care of her and to get her to the sitter following our ceremony.
I'm sure there are so many more things that Amelia did behind the scenes so that we wouldn't have to stress that we don't know about. Amelia was a trusted resource and friend through a process that pushed me totally out of my comfort zone, and I cannot say enough how thankful we were to have her by our side.
We used Wedding Savvy for a Day of Coordinator and cannot day enough great things. Adrian was an awesome Coordinator! She kept in charge of the day ensuring all went smoothly. She ...
was so great and we were so happy that we went with Wedding Savvy.
We used Wedding Savvy for a Day of Coordinator for our wedding in April, and it was the best choice for a coordinator. Raquel was a huge part of the process and we were able to wor...
k directly with her until the actual day of the wedding, when she left us in great hands of our Day of Coordinator, Nia! Raquel and Nia both helped us immensely with the organization of the whole wedding and reception. They made us think about things that we had not considered before, but all of it was truly crucial to making our wedding day so amazing. Nia was a huge help on the day of, even before the ceremony started. She made sure everything went smoothly without us even having to think about it. This really allowed us and our guests to truly enjoy the whole entire day from start to finish!!
Wedding Savvy did a FANTASTIC job organizing my wedding! I ordered their 'day of' service and it was well worth it! Reasonably priced, professional and extremely organized! My plan...
ner, Jiae, was always available via email, call or text whenever I had a question or just wanted to run something past her. She kept my bridal party in line and on task. And she was sure to handle things without my asking or direction. Overall, I had a wonderful experience with Wedding Savvy and would gladly utilize their services again!
Amelia did a great job working with the other vendors and executing my vision. It went off without a hitch.
Let me begin by saying I was hesitant to proceed with a day of coordinator. I was certain there was a family friend or neighbor that could help me direct people the day of my weddi...
ng. As I began planning, I realized in order to make sure our day proceeded smoothly, I needed experienced help. I started looking at day of coordinators and was overwhelmed, initially, by the price. I thought it was a big commitment for just "the day of". Long story short..we decided to go with wedding savvy and it was easily the best decision we made for our wedding.
The job went way beyond "the day of". Christine, our coordinator, went above and beyond starting months in advance. She was readily available for help with vendors and ideas. She was incredibly organized and allowed my few weeks right before the wedding to be stress free!
Christine set up my whole venue (even stringing lights throughout a huge white tent). The decorations were stunning. She ensured the events went effortlessly. I received so many compliments on the decorations and timing of things (which was all wedding savvy)! Christine brought two assistants, one that stayed with me the whole day of my wedding ensuring I had everything I needed. She even went on a champagne run for the bridesmaids! I believe whole heartedly that my wedding would not have been perfect without wedding savvy! If you are contemplating a wedding coordinator or palnner..STOP! Wedding savvy is it.
Our wedding day (actually the entire weekend from the rehearsal onward) was by far the best time of both of our lives and we are still smiling from ear to ear - this absolutely wou...
ld not have been possible without Jiae from Wedding Savvy. We are originally from Baltimore and lived in London during the entire planning process and Jiae clearly paid attention to each and every detail communicated and delivered to a tee. She literally topped our expectations, pulled our vision together, and made our dream wedding come to life.
Everyone has told us it was the best wedding they have ever been to and some have even asked us if we could get married every weekend. Having Wedding Savvy put together our big day was definitely money well spent as it wouldn't have been anywhere near the same without them.
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1997 Annapolis Exchange Parkway, Annapolis, MD | Maryland, Virginia, Washington DC